Muslims worldwide began their holiest month of the year last week with dawn to dusk fasts, broken each evening by large, communal meals. The faithful use the time to reevaluate their lives through the scope of Islamic doctrine. However, violence has marred the celebrations with more than 160 Iraqis killed in the first week and with supporters of former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi continuing to protest his removal from office. -- Lloyd Young ( 37 photos total)

A Nepalese Muslim boy offers Friday prayers during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Kathmandu on July 12. (Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

A Muslim woman prays after her iftar (breaking fast) meal on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan in India at the Jama Masjid (Grand Mosque) in the old quarters of Delhi on July 11. (Ahmad Masood/Reuters) #

Indonesian Muslims prepare to sight the new moon from the rooftop of the Al-Hidayah Basmol mosque in Jakarta on July 8 in preparation for the beginning of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan. The start of the holy month of Ramadan, when the faithful abstain from eating from dawn to sunset, is determined by the sighting of the new moon. (Romeo Gacad/AFP/Getty Images) #

A Musaharati, or dawn awakener, strikes his drum to wake observant Muslims for their overnight 'sahur', last meal, before the day's fast during Ramadan in Sidon's Old City in south Lebanon just before dawn on July 12. (Ali Hashisho/Reuters) #

A Pakistani Muslim boy reads the Koran during the holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Peshswar, Pakistan, 16 July 16. Muslims all over the world are observing Ramadan, which prohibits food, drinking, smoking and sex from dawn to dusk. (Bilawal Arbab/European Pressphoto Agency) #

Students read the Koran on the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, at Ar-Raudlatul Hasanah Islamic boarding school in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia, on July 10. (Binsar Bakkara/Associated Press) #

A Pakistani woman receives milk, sweetened with fruit juice, for Iftar to break the fast during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on July 15. Muslims throughout the world are marking the month of Ramadan, the holiest month in Islamic calendar. (B.K. Bangash/Associated Press) #

A Yemeni girl wearing traditional costume, attends a festival for children to welcome the Holy month of Ramadan in the old city of Sanaa, Yemen, on July 8. Muslims throughout the world including Yemen prepare for the holy fasting month of Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar with the dawn-to-dusk fast, prayers and spiritual introspection. (Hani Mohammed/Associated Press) #

A Palestinian Muslim worshipper sneaks through a hole in the Old City wall near the Lions Gate after prayers at the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem's Old City, Israel, on July 12. Muslim worshippers attended the first Friday prayers of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. (Abir Sultan/European Pressphoto Agency) #

A Muslim newly wed couple prepares to pose for wedding photos at Niujie Mosque during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Beijing on July 16. Muslims throughout the world are celebrating the holy fasting month of Ramadan, refraining from eating, drinking, and smoking from dawn to dusk. (Andy Wong/Associated Press) #

Students sit in circles during a Quran recital class on the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, at Ar-Raudlatul Hasanah Islamic boarding school in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia, on July 10. (Binsar Bakkara/Associated Press) #

A Free Syrian Army fighter washes himself before the time for iftar, or breaking fast, during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan in Aleppo's Karm al-Jabal district on July 15. (Muzaffar Salman/Reuters) #

Umm Atheer sits near her son, Atheer Ali, 5, who was burned in a car bomb attack in Kut, 100 miles (160 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, on July 15. The car bomb exploded among shops and take-away restaurants in central Kut shortly before the breaking of the Ramadan fast on Sunday. (Karim Kadim/Associated Press) #

An Israeli border police officer stands guard as Palestinian women cross the Qalandia checkpoint on their way to pray at the Al Aqsa Mosque during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, at the Qalandia checkpoint between the West Bank city of Ramallah and Jerusalem, on July 12. (Sebastian Scheiner/Associated Press) #

An Egyptian army soldier reads Islam's holy book, the Koran as he sits on his armored personnel carrier, near the presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, on the second day of Ramadan, July 11. Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood vowed Thursday not to back down in its push to restore ousted Islamist leader Mohammed Morsi to power but insisted its resistance is peaceful in an effort to distance itself from more than a week of clashes with security forces. (Hussein Malla/Associated Press) #

Egyptian army APCs are stationed outside the presidential palace as opponents of ousted president Mohammed Morsi gather to break their fast with the iftar meal in Cairo on July 12. Tens of thousands of Morsi's supporters gathered vowing to keep fighting for his reinstatement, as rival rallies defending his overthrow underlined Egypt's bitter divisions. (Gianluigi Guercia/AFP/Getty Images) #

Members of the family of Palestinian Abu Jaber gather between graves of the Almaamadani Muslim cemetery adjacent to their family's place of living, for breaking fast during the month of Ramadan in Azkola, central Gaza Strip, on July 15. Abu Jaber's family, two men, two women and five children, lives at the cemetery in difficult and poor conditions. Jaber says he lives in this place because he can not afford a healthy housing for himself and his family with just a small daily income from random jobs. He and his children are not employed and are depending on the assistance of Civil Affairs department of the government of Gaza. (Ali Ali/European Pressphoto Agency) #

Indian Muslim men gather to sight the crescent moon in the compound of Jamia Masjid or Grand Mosque in New Delhi, India, on July 10. The new moon heralds the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, a time of fasting, prayer and charitable giving for Muslims worldwide. (Altaf Qadri/Associated Press) #

A Muslim women wears a purple uniform as she performs the night prayer known as Tarawikh as millions of Muslims observe the holiday of Ramadan on July 16 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Rahman Roslan/Getty Images) #

A supporter of ousted president Mohammed Morsi prays before breaking the daily Ramadan fast on the second day of Ramadan, the sacred holy month for Muslims where many will fast from sun-up to sun-down on July 11 in Cairo, Egypt. Egypt continues to be in a state of political paralysis following the ousting of former President and Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Morsi by the military. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) #

A Kashmiri Muslim woman prays outside a shrine on the first day of Ramadan in Srinagar, India, on July 11. Muslims throughout the world are celebrating the holy fasting month of Ramadan, refraining from eating, drinking, and smoking from dawn to dusk. (Dar Yasin/Associated Press) #

A worker drains soybeans after they have been boiled at a small tempeh factory on July 12 in Jakarta, Indonesia. Tempeh is an Indonesian staple made from fermented soybeans. The Indonesian government has said that it will increase food imports during the Ramadan fasting month to reduce inflation caused by increased food consumption during the month leading up to and during the Eid Al Fitr holiday marking the end of the fasting month. (Ed Wray/Getty Images) #

An Israeli border policeman, right, stands by as a Palestinian man prepares decorations at the entrance of the Al-Aqsa mosque ahead of the Muslim holiday of Ramadan, in Jerusalem's Old City, Israel, on July 8. (Abir Sultan/European Pressphoto Agency) #

Flint resident Salma Al-Midani, 16, left, and Ahmad Deeb, work to hang up decorations at the Flint Islamic Center on July 9 in preparation for the Islamic tradition of Ramadan that starts on July 10. Hundreds are expected to gather at the center for the Terawih prayer, which leads into a month of fasting. (Michelle Tessier/Mlive.Com/The Journal via Associated Press) #

An Indian worker makes vermicelli inside a cottage factory in Lucknow, India, on July 16. Vermicelli is in great demand among Muslims when they break their day long fast during the holy month of Ramadan. (Rajesh Kumar Singh/Associated Press) #

At the base for Mohammed Morsi supporters, a boy waits in line to receive food in order to break the days fast on the first day of Ramadan, the sacred holy month for Muslims where many will fast from sun-up to sun-down on July 10 in Cairo, Egypt. Egypt continues to be in a state of political paralysis following the ousting of Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Morsi by the military. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) #